


Once in a Lifetime

by nubianamy



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, M/M, Multi, Nonmonogamous Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-07 17:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5464223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nubianamy/pseuds/nubianamy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Puck and Finn announce they got married, Kurt has to wonder why Finn didn't tell him first. </p><p>Fuckurt Advent 2015: Day 19.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Burt turned from the window only long enough to make sure Kurt was watching, too. “What’s the weather forecast again?”

“Clear through tomorrow morning,” Kurt said, sighing. He made a face, watching his dad pace along the window from one end to the other. “Would you please sit down? Just — let me get you a beer. They’ll be here soon.”

“I’d feel better if they’d call back.” But he obliged, letting his body sink into the chair by the television. 

Carole was in no better state, puttering in the kitchen over the turkey, but she was hiding it better. She flashed Kurt a distracted smile. “If they don’t get here soon, this is going to be dry as a bone.”

Kurt made a little snort. “You know Puck won’t care.” 

“True. Both he and Finn are likely to eat most of the dark meat by themselves.” She looked proud of that idea. Kurt stifled a sigh.

“I’m going to see if the linens in the dryer are done.”

Before he could disappear downstairs, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, tilting her head. “Are you sure you’re okay with them being here?”

Kurt shifted back a step, avoiding her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean. It’s Christmas. Of course I am.”

“Kurt.” Her voice was mild and quiet, but he flinched anyway. “You haven’t been gone from Lima long enough for me to have lost track of you entirely. I know Puck and Finn’s announcement surprised you as much as it did us.”

He didn’t have much he could say about that, so he just shrugged. “Why would I care what they do with their lives? I barely talk to them anymore.”

That was nothing more than a bald-faced lie. He called Finn more often than he called any of the rest of his family, mostly to complain about Chicago theater drama to somebody who wouldn’t get sucked into it himself. _Costumers get to observe more than participate,_ Kurt often told Finn, _and I’m grateful for that._ Finn was a cheerful, optimistic listener, with a surprisingly dry sense of humor. Until this spring, Kurt had considered him a good friend — maybe his best friend.

 _Obviously I don’t know him as well as I thought I did,_ he thought, not for the first time.

“All right,” Carole said soothingly. “I just wanted to offer you the possibility of another place to stay. It doesn’t have to be in the same room as them. Even if Finn wasn’t your stepbrother and Puck wasn’t —“ She politely cleared her throat, ignoring Kurt’s blush. “You might not be thrilled to sleep in the same room with newlyweds, regardless.”

“It’s really _fine,_ Carole,” he said, his voice coming out more high and shrill than he would have liked. Luckily for both of them, she simply nodded and didn’t push him any further. 

Kurt took the opportunity to disappear downstairs for a few minutes. The sheets were dry, and he put them on the second bed, trying not to dwell too much on the two people who were about to sleep in it. Even so, by the time he was done, he was grumpy and more than a little turned on. 

The basement had been cleared of most of their things, but in and around Carole’s crafting supplies, it still held plenty of reminders of his and Finn’s time together as roommates. There were some pictures hanging on the wall by the bathroom of Finn and Puck together in elementary and middle school, mugging for the camera and being complete idiots together, and some of them in their football uniforms in high school. He found himself staring at that one more often than he would have liked to admit. 

Kurt had to roll his eyes at himself. _Stupid. Why do I insist on fulfilling stereotypes? Those aren’t the kind of men you like. You date refined, thoughtful, cultured men. Not day laborers. Even if they did turn out to be —_

He still couldn’t bring himself to apply any labels to Finn, not after the explosive arguments they’d had back in sophomore and junior year. Puck, okay, he could see him as fluid, even if he’d never claimed an identity in that direction. But Finn? He’d been very clear that he wasn’t attracted to Kurt. Which just implied that Kurt had just… never been his type.

Kurt ran his hand over the smooth bamboo sheet, and allowed himself a long, indulgent sigh. It was no wonder, really. If Finn could have somebody who looked like _Puck…_

The sound of the opening front door and the exclamations from his dad and Carole were enough to draw him out of his ennui. He fixed on a smile and went back upstairs to face Finn and Puck together. 

* * *

“… And then he threw the equipment on the freight elevator and told us to _deal_ with it!” Puck cackled, leaning back in his chair. He held aloft his beer can and took a long sip, then grinned triumphantly. “It was epic.”

“I’m glad your foreman is giving you that kind of trust,” said Carole. Her eyes were bright and proud. 

Finn reached out and rested a hand on Puck’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure they were going to offer us a salary bump after the new year. But I don’t think we’re going to stick around, anyway.”

“Why not?” asked Carole. “It sounds like steady work. Don’t you like Indianapolis?”

Puck glanced over at Finn, then shrugged. “It’s okay. Nothing really keeping us there. We’ll find another job wherever we end up. We have lots of connections.”

“You can’t tell me construction work is all that gay-friendly,” Kurt said. 

He hadn’t meant for it to come out sounding so caustic, but Finn just gave him a little smile. “Actually, most of the guys have been totally fine with it. Whenever we run into a jerk who wants to get in our face about our relationship, somebody else on the crew has always spoken up, defending us. And most of our employers have non-discrimination policies to back us up.” 

“Things sure have changed,” Burt said. Puck grinned at him.

“Thanks to the laws you helped pass.”

“A Democratic majority in the White House and Congress works wonders. I just never expected I was speaking for both my sons when I was campaigning for non-discrimination.”

Finn smiled, looking at his hands. “Yeah. I figured that might kind of come as a surprise to you.”

“You might say that.” Kurt wasn’t smiling. He waited until Finn looked up at him to look away.

“You don’t have to explain yourselves,” Carole told Finn. “You know we’re so happy for you both. It’s not like you haven’t always been part of the family anyway, Puck.”

“Thanks,” Puck said quietly. He looked calm enough, but he wasn’t looking at Kurt, either. “The people we still talk to from high school have been cool about it.”

 _The people you still talk to._ Kurt felt unreasonably stung by this. He hadn’t exactly had long conversations with Puck over the past few years, but he’d definitely been friendly with him on the phone when he’d called Finn. _Obviously I’m not one of them._

The turkey wasn’t too dry. They all talked and laughed about other things, and it almost felt normal. But every now and then, Kurt would notice Puck’s fingers brushing Finn’s arm, or a look Finn gave Puck, and the cycle of unease and frustration would start all over again. 

 _Why didn’t you tell me?_ He couldn’t ask Finn that question, not in front of everybody. He probably wouldn’t have a chance to get him alone, maybe not the whole time the two of them were here. 

But when they were cleaning up after dinner, Finn grabbed his arm and dragged him into the hallway. It felt so ordinary, Kurt didn’t have the heart to protest. 

“Kurt,” he began. Kurt glared at him, and Finn shook his head vigorously. “No, I saw that look at dinner. Dude, you have to believe me, there’s a reason we didn’t tell you.”

“You got _married_ to _Puck_ and you’re telling me there’s a _reason?”_ Kurt hissed. “How about you could have said something, _anything_ , about this in the past two _years_ and it would have been more than I know now!”

“I know. We knew you would be mad. I’m just saying, we came here to talk to you about it. That’s really why we’re here. Don’t tell mom it’s not for her turkey.”

Kurt let out a hollow laugh and rolled his eyes. “I really don’t know what you expect to —“

“Kurt,” Finn said again, and this time his tone was so completely different that Kurt stopped and looked at him in confusion. Finn was watching him just as closely. Then he shook his head. “Come on. Let’s finish the dishes. I don’t want any interruptions.”

Kurt completed his part of washing up in wary silence. Puck was having very loud eye conversations with Finn the whole time they were loading the dishwasher, but Kurt had no idea what any of them meant. 

“Football’s on,” Burt said hopefully. Puck just shook his head.

“We’ve got some catching up to do with Kurt. Tomorrow, though.”

He nodded. “You’re on.” Then he reached for Puck’s hand, shaking it, and drew him into a hug. “Really glad to have you as part of the family, Noah.”

Kurt eyed him as they headed for the basement stairs. “You’re going by Noah these days?”

“Either one. At work they call me Noah, mostly. But you can still call me Puck if you want.” 

“What does Finn call you?” Kurt immediately thought better of the question, and scrunched up his nose. 

Puck laughed. “Nothing like that. Things haven’t changed all that much between us, you know, Kurt. I’m still the same guy, and so is Finn.”

“Except for the part where you’re married.”

Finn was already sitting on the edge of the second bed in the basement. He waited while Puck pulled up a chair to face him and gestured to Kurt to have a seat. Kurt did, wondering what they were up to. Puck sat down beside Finn. 

“This feels a little like I’m on trial.”

“Totally not,” Finn said, shaking his head. “This is me — both of us — trying to fix a mistake I made a long time ago.”

“What Finn’s trying to say is, he was a dickhead,” Puck said. Finn just nodded regretfully, staring at his knees.

Kurt looked from one to the other. “At exactly which point did this dickheadedness become a factor in our friendship?”

“Since our parents got together,” said Finn. “I guess that would be, what, eight years ago now?” He grinned. “Wow, that sounds like a long time.”

“Are you still trying to apologize for calling me a fag?” Kurt shook his head. “You know I forgave you for that. So has my father.”

“I’m trying to apologize for calling you something I knew I was, too. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it, with anybody. And Rachel…” He sighed. “She knew, and when she tried to point it out —“

“Wait, wait.” Kurt stared at him. “ _Rachel_ knew… what?”

“About how I felt. How uncomfortable I was about being around you.” Finn glanced over at Puck, who nodded. He took a deep breath and looked right at Kurt. “You were so sure about what you wanted, how you were, and I was way too intimidated. I couldn’t deal with it.”

Each word Finn said raised his stress level another notch. Kurt shifted his stare to Puck.“And when did _you_ figure it out?”

“Hey, I always did things with guys,” Puck said, waving Kurt’s question aside. “But I didn’t know how Finn felt about you until college.”

 _About me._ Kurt didn’t know _where_ to look. Finn’s red face was compelling, but Kurt thought he might start yelling or crying or both if he wasn’t careful. He indicated the staircase with a tight nod. “Do either of them know any of this?”

Finn shook his head. “I haven’t talked to them yet. But I think my mom knows some of it, maybe.”

“Knows… what, exactly?” Kurt asked softly. 

“How I feel about you.” Finn twisted his fingers together, then laughed a little. “So many times, I wanted to say something. Every time you and Blaine broke up, but — that would have been kind of awful, too. And then you’d get back together and I just — I didn’t want to make things weird for us.”

 _Weird._ Kurt closed his eyes briefly, trying to maintain his equilibrium. _Yeah, this definitely qualifies as weird._ When he opened them again, Puck and Finn were both watching him in silence. 

“So why are you telling me now?” Kurt asked. “You’re married.”

Finn laughed again. “Uh, well…”

“Like I said,” Puck said, “things haven’t really changed with us. Yeah, it’s legal, but we’ve been doing this for a while.”

Kurt narrowed his eyes at Finn. “How long is _a while?”_

“Since college?” Finn said in a small voice. Before Kurt could start yelling, he added quickly, “I couldn’t tell you about me and Puck without telling you about — this.”

Kurt took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “You’re saying you’ve been together for years and you didn’t _tell_ anybody?”

“Most of our friends knew in college, and after,” Puck said. “We didn’t talk about it, but it was pretty obvious. If you’d been around us, you would have noticed.”

Kurt closed his mouth, because he knew Puck was right. He had noticed, but he never would have expected — 

“We were kind of thinking there was a reason why you never get together with me,” said Finn. “Why you were avoiding me.” 

“I wasn’t,” Kurt said automatically. Then he sighed, resting his forehead in his hand. “Jesus.”

“I mean, it’s fine if you don’t feel that stuff anymore,” Finn went on. “But I thought… I mean, Puck thought, maybe, you still did.” 

He looked… _hopeful._ Kurt regarded him for a long, baffled moment.

“What if I did?” he said flatly. “So what if I do still… have feelings about you? What would I possibly gain by bringing them up?”

Finn looked back at Puck again. Puck nodded. He took Finn’s hand and held it on his lap. It looked so easy, like they’d done it a million times. Maybe they had. _Since college._ Kurt’s stomach gave a lurch. 

“I really like talking to you on the phone every week, Kurt,” said Finn. “We have friends, but… there’s nobody like you. I don’t want to _not_ see you anymore. I want to see more of you.” His face flushed as Puck gave a low chuckle. “Uh, I mean… I guess I mean that, too. I mean, I think we could, you and me…”

“You don’t have to avoid each other,” said Puck. “Married don’t mean monogamous.”

Kurt found himself staring at Puck, open-mouthed, for longer than was polite. Puck laughed again. 

“It’s okay if you want to say no,” Finn added. “I’d rather have you as my stepbrother and friend than… not to have you.”

Kurt shifted back on his chair, grateful for the back support. He felt like he might be in danger of losing consciousness. 

“You’re seriously asking,” said Kurt at last, pleased at how steady his voice sounded, “if I would be interested in — seeing you.”

“Yeah,” said Finn. “It’s not just totally selfish on my part, either. I know how hard it’s been for you to find guys you like. That Walter guy in New York, he was the last one I know about.”

“I did like Walter.” Kurt had to smile. “And Andrew on crew, when I did costumes for Phantom last year.”

“Didn’t Andrew want you to listen to him talk about bowling all the time?” Puck snorted. “Total loser.”

He raised an eyebrow at Finn. “I see somebody has been sharing.” 

“Yeah, I’m not so good at keeping things from Puck.” Finn didn’t sound the least bit apologetic. “So what do you think?”

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation, that’s what I think.” Kurt moved his eyes to their joined hands. Puck was doing this stroking thing with his thumb, just gently running it along Finn’s wrist, back and forth in little circles. It was strangely soothing, even from three feet away. “Isn’t Indianapolis kind of far from Chicago?”

“Well, we’re not staying.” Finn shrugged. “There’s no reason we couldn’t look for our next job in Chicago. Lots of construction happening there.”

“Kurt,” Puck said. Kurt moved his eyes to Puck’s face, somewhat unwillingly. “Finn knows you. He knows all about you. You know he respects you, and he would never do anything to hurt you. Right?”

Kurt flickered a little glance at Finn’s anxious face. “Yes. I mean, no, he wouldn’t.”

“Yeah. You guys have almost as much history as me and Finn do.” He shifted Finn’s arm toward him, so their elbows touched. “There’s definitely an advantage to dating somebody you’ve known for years. Lots of stupid hurdles you don’t have to jump.” He let loose a wicked smile. “And he’s totally hot for you.”

“Puck,” Finn groaned, elbowing him hard in the ribs. Puck cackled while Finn squeezed his eyes shut, looking mortified.

“Is — that true?” Kurt had to ask. He scooted forward on his chair, almost close enough for his knees to touch Finn’s. “You haven’t really said anything about that.”

“Neither have you,” Finn said. 

“Well, if you’re going by the way I felt about you in high school, you already know I thought you were gorgeous. And that was before I knew you.”

Finn peeked up at him, his cheeks still red. “So what about now?”

Embarrassed as he was, he figured Finn deserved an honest answer. Kurt let himself look at Finn, really _look_ at him, for the first time in a long, long while. He moved his eyes from Finn’s mouth, to his shoulders, down to his legs, and back up again. 

Puck made a pleased noise that made Finn blush harder. “Watching you do that to my husband is totally hot, Kurt.”

“You just like to say _husband,”_ Finn muttered, elbowing him again. Puck didn’t appear to mind.

“Um,” said Kurt, shaking his head. He sighed. “It appears I’m as attracted to you as I ever was.”

“Construction work has done all _kinds_ of awesome things to his body,” Puck fake-whispered. Kurt choked on a laugh. He looked at Puck in disbelief.

“You _want_ me to hook up with him?” he demanded.

“No way,” Puck said. “Because it wouldn’t be like that. Finn doesn’t do hook-ups. It would be for real. He’s been in love with you for freaking _ever,_ Kurt.”

Kurt took a few big breaths, in and out of his mouth, blinking fast. “Oh, god.”

“Yeah. Like I said. It’s the same as it ever was. And, yeah, maybe I’m thinking about how hot that threesome would be, but it’s totally not about me. This is about him, finally telling you the truth, and me saying, yeah, I love him and I want him to have that.”

“You…” Kurt finally focused on Finn’s face. “Can I… I mean, I’d really like to hear you say… how you feel.”

Finn nodded, but he remained silent for several long moments. Kurt could see him squeezing Puck’s hand tightly. It was that desperate grip that made Kurt open his own mouth again.

“Finn, I don’t know if I’m still in love with you. It’s been a long time since I thought about it with any kind of hope or intention. But I feel… love, for you. I always have. Maybe more now than ever.”

Finn smiled gratefully at Kurt. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I knew that. I feel the same way. I think it was the way things are with Puck that made me start thinking that you and I could do that, too. That we didn’t have to be just friends.”

Kurt sat there for another few seconds, trying to figure out what he could say that would make sense. Then he turned to Puck. 

“Could I think about this for a little while?” 

“Of course,” Puck said, just as Finn said, “Yeah, absolutely.”

They all stood up at the same time, and it was stupid not to hug, because they were both definitely huggers, and once Finn had his arms around Kurt, it was impossible for Kurt to make himself let go.

“Wow,” Finn whispered, giving Kurt a little extra squeeze. He sighed into his hair. “You feel… incredible.”

Kurt gave a shaky laugh. “You, too.”

It felt strangely okay to be doing this in front of Puck, who was still smiling. He went over to the suitcase and rummaged around in it, getting his toothbrush out and waving it at them. “Back in a sec.”

Kurt watched him go, but most of his attention was stuck on the sensation of being in Finn’s arms with all the possibilities they’d just discussed going through his head. He touched Finn’s shoulder, squeezing it with his fingers, and gulped a little to feel the hard muscle underneath his shirt.

“You really want to move to Chicago just so you can see me?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Finn immediately. “I really do.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?”

“Then we can move somewhere else. Me and Puck, I don’t think we’re counting on it not working out. But I guess it might not be as good as we thought it would be.”

Kurt tipped his head up to look Finn in the face. There wasn’t much height difference between them anymore. “He thinks it’d be good?”

“For me,” Finn said. “For us. And, I don’t know, he thinks it’s hot, which — maybe? I don’t think my brain’s ready to deal with that idea right now.” He ran his hand down Kurt’s back, leaving a tingling wake of sensation. “I just think about you a lot. About us.”

“You do?” 

Finn smiled at the tone of surprise in his voice. “You still don’t believe me?”

“It’s hard to trust,” Kurt said honestly. “Especially after all those times you said you… that you didn’t want that.”

“That was a long time ago, Kurt. The truth is, I did want it. I didn’t know how to say it.” He raised his hand to Kurt’s face and placed it on his cheek, looking into his eyes with such calm and obvious affection that Kurt found it hard to keep breathing. “I know how to, now.”

“Well, go ahead?”

“Go ahead and what?”

“Tell him you love him, dumbass,” Puck called from the bathroom, his voice muffled by the toothbrush. Finn laughed out loud. His eyes twinkled.

“Yeah,” he said. “I love you, Kurt.”

Kurt closed his eyes and let the words sink in. Before he could say anything else, he felt Finn’s lips hovering beside his cheek, speaking into his ear.

“And you’re really hot, and I really want to kiss you.”

The gasp that escaped his lips seemed to please Finn. Kurt could hear his smile, feel it on his cheek.

“Can I, please?”

Kurt decided it was the _please_ that did it, like Westley in the Princess Bride, _please, I want to kiss you,_ and he barely managed to get out, “Yes, please, do that,” before he’d seized Finn’s jaw in two hands and fastened himself to Finn’s lips.

Finn made a surprised noise, but he didn’t waste any time kissing him back. His fingers on Kurt’s neck were outrageously ticklish, but Kurt didn’t care. 

“Guess you thought about it,” drawled Puck from the bathroom doorway.

“Yeah,” said Finn. His smile was brilliant. 

“I’m going to keep thinking about it,” said Kurt, “but I think… I’m going to keep kissing you, too.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was intended to be posted for Fuckurt Advent Boxing Day Jamboree, but I had no computer access for three days, and by the time I got my computer back, there was no internet. In any case, I've got a few stories queued up!
> 
> This chapter was inspired by this picture: <http://glee-rares.tumblr.com/post/134484775829>

Kurt stayed in the kitchen while Finn and Puck were getting ready for bed. It wasn’t like he’d never seen Finn getting ready for bed. He just wasn’t ready to see what Puck and Finn did when they were alone at home, the two of them. Finn and Puck had said they were going to stay downstairs and watch the game, and Carole and Burt had begged off the rest of the evening and had gone to bed early. That left him alone on the first floor. The dining room table was familiar and provided him a safe haven while he thought things through.

He sighed, steepling his hands in front of his mouth. _I’ve got a lot of thinking to do._

The first thing he did was to make some warm milk on the stove. It was too early in the evening for it, but it didn’t matter, considering neither his father nor Finn were there. At this point, it was more of a symbolic gesture than anything.

The next thing he did was to pick up the phone and call Rachel.

 _“I hope you know this is the absolute worst time of the evening to call,”_ she said. She definitely sounded tired and aggravated, but still pleased to hear his voice.

He smiled. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have called at all if it hadn’t been an emergency. Do you want me to ask politely about David and Jesse, or just get to the point?”

_“I’m okay with you being rude, since I started that way.”_

“I can’t make this sound any less weird than it is, Rach. Finn and Puck are at my parents’ for Christmas dinner, and Finn…” He felt the sensation of Finn’s kiss on his lips, stopping his words.

_“Is he okay? I heard about their elopement and I was so proud of him, but I haven’t called him to say so.”_

“Yeah, they seem happy. Puck says it’s not really any different than it was before.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “Finn says you knew about him, way back in high school.”

 _“Well, I suppose I knew he was feeling… certain things. But you know how it is, Kurt, you don’t out somebody when they’re not ready to do that themselves. Just a second.”_ He heard the babbling of a small voice, sounding aggravated and tired, with far too many words than should be spoken by a three-year-old. _“No, honey, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Just show daddy. He’ll show you how to connect it. Yes, that’s right. Take the whole thing with you. I’ll be there in a minute.”_ She sighed.

“I can call back later,” he said.

_“Don’t you dare. Jesse will put David to sleep, and we can talk, unless there’s a crisis. Trust me, adult conversation is a precious thing. So what is Finn doing, then?”_

“He… well.” Kurt took a deep breath. “He asked me out. Actually Puck asked me out for him.”

 _“Oh.”_ Rachel sounded legitimately startled. _“That’s — progressive.”_

“Yes. I thought I might need someone to check my judgment.”

_“Because you said yes?”_

“I kissed him. The yes is forthcoming. To be honest, I have no idea what to say.”

_“Are you inclined to continue… kissing him?”_

“Rachel, are you _laughing_ at me?” He huffed at her stifled giggles. “Do you know how weird this is?”

_“Nobody says you have to say yes, Kurt. But I already know what you’re going to say. And — seriously, Kurt, you don’t want to know how many of his teenage fantasies involved you.”_

“Oh my god,” he muttered, to her continuing hilarity. “I really don’t want to hear about that.”

_“Oh, yes, you really do. I’ll save it for a time when you’re a little more drunk. Ideally after you and he have had some… history. It’s fitting, really, considering I dated both of them.”_

Kurt rested his head on the table, propping his phone up on his cheek. “Rachel, don’t tell me you think this is a _good_ idea.”

 _“I think you get to decide that, Kurt.”_ She sounded so affectionate. _“I will always love Finn. If he could have the thing he always wanted, that would be a perfect ending. And that would be you.”_

“I thought it seemed more like Puck was what he always wanted.”

_“From what I hear, that was Puck’s dream. Finn has always been his confused self — except even at his most confused, he still knew he wanted you.”_

“Rachel,” he protested, running a hand over his face, “if that’s true, why am I the last one to learn about it?”

 _“He was really careful never to tell you. You know why, right?”_ Kurt could hear David crying in the background. _“I’m going to have to get going.”_

“Rachel, you can’t leave it like —“

_“Because he didn’t want to lose you. He’d rather have your friendship than not have anything. Kurt, just follow your heart. Only you can tell yourself what you want. Call me next week and let me know what you decided, okay? I love you.”_

“Love you too,” he said, but he was pretty sure she’d already hung up. He set his phone on the table and went back into the kitchen to clean up the milk pan.

“Hey.” He turned to see Puck standing in the doorway. Kurt tried to smile at him, but he was pretty sure it came out more like a grimace.

“Rachel says congratulations,” he told Puck.

“That’s cool.” Puck crossed his arms, watching Kurt at the sink. In his jeans and white t-shirt, he should have been unremarkable, but Kurt was sure he knew how good he looked. Kurt sighed, loud and irritated.

“I’m not upset at you,” Kurt said.

“I didn’t think you were.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure you knew. I don’t blame you for any of this.”

“Blame is kind of the last thing I’d expect to hear from you after what went down with you and Finn just now.” Puck tapped his foot. “He’s a good kisser, huh?”

“Yes, he is,” Kurt said absently. “Look, I don’t know if I can… this is the most confusing thing I’ve done in a long time. I’m not sure how to make a decision about this.”

“What did Rachel say?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “To follow my heart.”

“Sounds like good advice.”Puck made his way across the kitchen to stand beside him. “You want any more, or are you going to stick with that?”

Kurt looked at him dubiously. “You want to give me advice?”

“Well, I already made my pitch for Finn. You weighed in — pretty favorably, I’d say, judging by the noises you were getting him to make.” Puck grinned at Kurt’s embarrassed scowl. “Yeah. So now I’m here to make the pitch for me.”

He gave up pretending to do dishes and jerked his head back to stare at Puck. “For what?”

“For you and me.” He gave Kurt a disarming smile, gesturing to himself as he struck a pose. “You get a double deal with me and Finn. If you want that.”

Kurt didn’t try to disguise his perplexity. “Puck, you’re seriously weirding me out here.”

“Okay, so maybe you don’t know what you want yet. I’m trying to tell you why this is a better deal than continuing to jump into the dating pool and hope someone throws you a life saver.”

“ _This,_ meaning… you and Finn.”

“Meaning us, separately, and us together.” Puck held out his hand and touched each finger as he spoke. “I think, considering Finn and I have been friends for more than a decade and getting it on for five, you can be pretty sure we’re a stable couple and there’s nothing you can do to break us up. That’s one thing in our favor. Number two is, hey, we’re pretty easy on the eyes. You too, Kurt. I think the whole Glee club wanted to jump you in that kilt at the junior prom.”

“Um, thanks?” He shook off the bizarre compliment. Never mind that it made him blush to think about Puck wanting to jump him in any outfit. 

“Number three, running a household’s way easier with three. Three adults to pay bills and take care of chores, especially considering how much it costs to live in Chicago. I bet you’re in a shit apartment. We could split a bigger place three ways, you could still have your own room, and we’d all benefit.” Puck gave him an expectant look. “Good so far?”

“I’m reserving judgment for the whole package,” Kurt said.

Puck laughed. “Yeah, I like that about you. All right. Number four, you know how much Finn wants to make me happy, right? Well, I want to make him happy like that, too. But we’re not always so compatible. So that sometimes means one of us ends up doing things we don’t want to do.”

Kurt shifted uneasily. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t mean stuff in the sack, Kurt. We can talk about that later. I mean ordinary things. Finn’s a good egg, but he’s got some pretty weird ideas about what makes a good relationship. Like he’d rather watch TV all night than go to the club. And he’s totally terrified about having kids.”

“I don’t blame him,” said Kurt faintly. “You want to have kids with him? That’s pretty terrifying to me, too.”

“Come on, Finn would be the best dad. He just wouldn’t know how to do it alone. Don’t you want to have kids?”

Kurt picked up the dish towel and slowly dried off his hands. “I don’t know. Maybe? With the right guy.”

“You can’t imagine the right guy being Finn?” Puck pressed.

He was starting to sweat. “I think we jumped awfully fast from _first kiss_ to _having kids.”_

“Give me a break, Kurt. You think five years is fast?” Puck snorted. “I think he’s gonna be scrambling to catch up.”

“Okay,” sighed Kurt. “Will you tell me number five, so I can go back to freaking out alone?”

Puck held out a hand. “I will if you come upstairs with me.”

“ _Up_ stairs?” Kurt took the hand — he was pretty sure it was the first time he’d ever done that with Puck, but considering this was a whole night for firsts, he wasn’t going to let this one stand out — and followed Puck up the steps to the hallway leading to his dad and Carole’s bedroom.

Puck stopped about three-quarters of the way up the stairs, reaching up to switch on the hallway light.

“There,” he said, gesturing to the picture on the wall.

Kurt didn’t need to look at it to see which one it was. There weren’t too many pictures of the three of them.

“You remember that day?” asked Puck.

“Of course I do. We won the football game when I kicked a field goal.” He smiled, shaking his head at their Kodachrome smiles. “We look so young.”

“We were,” said Puck. “We lifted you up on our shoulders and carried you around the field. You were the hero, Kurt. Finn was so proud of you.”

He couldn’t help but blush, the way Puck was looking at him. “You thought I was ridiculous.”

“Well, so what? We won, didn’t we?” Puck pointed at the picture. “That. That’s what I’m going for. I want Finn to feel like that, all the time. Like he won the game.”

Kurt gazed at him. “You don’t think you’re good enough to do that by yourself?”

“It’s not a question of _good enough._ I’m a fucking awesome husband.” He said it like it was a fact, like there was no question of that being true, and Kurt smiled again. “It’s that his heart wants you. Which isn’t to say he doesn’t want me, because he totally fucking does.”

“I can see it,” said Kurt. “Tonight at dinner, the way you were touching each other, the way he was looking at you. He’s nuts about you.”

“Yeah.” Puck’s eyes glinted. “I’m nuts about him.”

He was still holding Kurt’s hand, which somehow wasn’t weird. It wasn’t _not-weird_ in the way Puck watching them kiss had been _not-weird._ This was just Puck and Kurt together in the hallway, evaluating each other. Kurt found himself blushing again.

“Finn said you thought the three of us together would be hot,” he said.

“Well, yeah.” Puck raised an eyebrow. “I have a lot of ideas about what’s hot. But Finn calls the shots.”

“Huh. I never thought that was the dynamic between the two of you.”

Puck laughed. “He calls the shots because it’s all new for him. This thing with guys, to begin with. There’s plenty we haven’t even done yet. But he was sure enough about being with _me_ to say yes when I asked him to marry me.”

“I’m happy for you.”

He reached over and took Kurt’s other hand. The way they were standing on the staircase, Kurt one step up and Puck one step down, he had to look up a long way to meet Kurt’s eyes.

“Be happy for _us,”_ Puck said, his voice hushed and urgent. It sent a shiver up Kurt’s spine.

“I am happy, for both of you.”

“No, Kurt. I mean the three of us.” Puck raised himself up onto the same step with Kurt, moving right in behind him so his arms were around Kurt’s, both of them facing the picture on the wall. To be suddenly embraced by Puck like this was a little startling, but Kurt didn’t move away. He let Puck hold him, cradled in his arms. They were strong and steady, but gentle, too. He rested his head on Kurt’s neck, his chin over Kurt’s shoulder, and pointed at the picture again. “ _Look_ at that.”

Kurt looked. Seeing an eight-years-younger Noah Puckerman in the picture while being held by the more mature version of the same person was an interesting experience. He focused on Finn’s smile. Then he turned his head to look at Puck, and saw him doing the same thing. He felt the shiver along his spine spread to his extremities.

“You want that?” he asked Puck softly. “The… the three of us. Not just for Finn. For yourself?”

Puck looked back at Kurt, his eyes remarkably thoughtful and clear at this distance. “I think it’s worth a shot.”

Then he leaned over and kissed Kurt on the cheek, right next to his mouth. Kurt touched where the kiss landed, feeling his skin bloom with warmth, and looked at Puck, speechless.

“You get to say no at any point,” said Puck. “That includes right in the middle of anything. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying to sell you on yes. All right?”

Kurt just nodded. Puck let one of his hands go and tugged the other one after him. Together they descended the stairs all the way down to the basement, where Finn was sitting in front of Burt’s enormous television.

“Game’s almost over,” Finn said. Then he zeroed in on their joined hands. He blinked up at them in surprise.

“You want to take a break?” Puck suggested.

The way he said it, it wasn’t an innuendo, but Finn’s eyes dilated anyway, his breath speeding up. He quickly clicked off the television and scrambled off the couch.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at Kurt.

“I have no idea,” said Kurt truthfully. “I’m getting a bigger proposition than I thought I was.”

Finn glanced reproachfully at Puck. “Hey, we said we weren’t going to push him.”

“I’m just laying out the facts.” Puck looked steadily at Kurt, then let his hand go. He gestured at him. “Kurt’s a man who can make up his own mind. He’s been a good listener.”

Finn was already standing in front of Kurt, touching his shoulder in obvious concern. “He’s not giving you a hard time, is he?”

“No,” he said. “He’s trying to tell me why I should date both of you.” He watched Finn’s face for any surprise, but found none, and looked back and forth between him and Puck. “I’m guessing you’ve… had that conversation already.”

“That’s because I move faster than _dirt,_ Finn,” said Puck, rolling his eyes. Kurt suppressed his chuckle, and Puck grinned.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Finn muttered. “Look, Kurt, you don’t have to make up your mind about any of this right now. We’re heading out in the morning. Just think about it, and call me, okay? You can have all the time you want.”

Kurt watched Puck’s face, watching Finn’s. He thought about how he’d done the same on the staircase, the way they’d both been focused on Finn.

“No,” he heard himself say. Before Finn could protest, Kurt put his arms around Finn’s waist. “No, I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

“Right on,” murmured Puck, with a slow smile. He took a step back. “That’s my cue.”

“Wait.” He looked over at Puck, holding out his hand. “Would you come here, please?”

Puck covered his surprise well. If Kurt hadn’t been watching for it, he wouldn’t have seen Puck’s face smooth over as he clasped Kurt’s hand again. “What’s up?”

“I’m trying to think about this logically,” Kurt explained. “You said this is a better deal than the kind of dating I’m already doing. So let’s say I’m… dating you. One at a time, just for the sake of the argument. Finn…” Standing this close to Finn, holding him in his arms, he had to smile, and Finn smiled back. “I think you get an automatic bye to date number two after that kiss earlier. So, what would you propose we do on date number two?”

Finn froze. “Uh,” he said, his eyes moving all over the room. “I don’t… I mean, I hadn’t really —“

“He’d dress up sharp,” said Puck, “and take you out to dinner, not too fancy. And then he’d invite you to the movies and see something he didn’t really care about, and he’d touch you enough to get you all turned on, so you’d invite him back to your place.”

Finn nodded, clearly relieved. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’d do.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Puck. “Because you’d coach him to do that?”

“Yup.”

He bit his lip. “Have you been doing this for Finn all this time?”

“Pretty much.” Puck didn’t even look embarrassed. He squeezed Kurt’s hand. Kurt let the smile in his mouth escape.

“All right. Puck, let's pretend you and I were... dating. What would _you_ propose we do on date number one?”

“Well, first, I’d see if Finn was busy.” Puck clapped Finn on the shoulder like he was Exhibit A. “Because you’re totally happier with him around. Then I’d try to get the two of you laid. Seriously, however much sex you’re having now, you should both be having way more of it. I’d make sure there was sushi when you got hungry.”

Kurt's smile was threatening to break itself right off his face. “Sushi?”

Puck made a dismissive gesture. “Or sandwiches, whatever. And at some point, you’d either let me watch or I’d get involved somehow, so that’d be good. Then you’d get tired and we’d watch Finn’s stupid TV shows until we had enough energy to go again.”

“That’s date number one, huh?” Kurt put on a dubious face. “And what makes you think there might be a date number two with _you_ if all I really want to do is get into Finn’s pants?”

Puck gave him an entirely satisfied smile. “Because now you know who really plans the good dates.” He slipped an arm through Finn’s. “I’m the one who looks ahead. He’s the guy who’ll pay attention to you. You need both of us if you don’t want to get totally bored.”

“Okay. _Okay.”_ Kurt waved both hands in a _stop_ motion. Then he reached out and gripped Finn’s arm in one and Puck’s in the other. He looked them both in the eye. “This is ridiculous. Yes. Yes, of course I’m saying yes.”

It was something of a charge to see the excited look on Finn’s face, but Kurt wasn’t really surprised by it. But seeing an almost identical excited look on Puck’s face made Kurt wonder if Puck had told the whole story. _Maybe he’s more personally invested than he’s letting on._

“Okay! Great!” Finn grabbed Kurt and hugged him, then he turned to Puck and hugged and kissed him, and then turned back to Kurt again. Then he paused, his enthusiasm curbed for a moment. “Can I — um. What do we do now? I mean, we haven’t actually done any of those date things yet.”

“True,” said Kurt. “Maybe if I trusted you less, I might ask you to follow through on them before I invited you into my bedroom.”

He grinned, watching Finn’s face as he worked through that logic in his head.

“But aren’t we already in your bedroom?”

“Good point.” Kurt pointed at the television screen. “How about we sit on the couch and watch the rest of the game?”

Puck caught Kurt’s eye. “Hudson in the middle?”

“For now,” said Kurt primly.

They settled beside Finn, each one resting an arm on one of his thighs, with Finn looking like he'd just been handed the best Christmas present ever. Kurt thought he had a better idea of what was going on behind Puck's casual grin. It wasn't simple at all. He was planning, thinking. _L_ _ooking ahead._  He thought about what Puck had said about Finn being a good dad, and he felt a little tremble in his stomach.

"Remember when we used to play football together?" Finn said happily. He took Kurt's hand, then Puck's, and let out a sigh. "We were a good team."

"Yeah," Kurt said. He caught Puck's eye, and gave him a little nod. Puck nodded back, and it didn't even bother Kurt that it was an  _I-told-you-so_ nod. "We really were."


End file.
